The Evil against The Pure of Heart (A Cloud Strife Love Story)
by Kim Hawke
Summary: Kimberley Gray is the daughter of someone with great power. Someone who reminds her of Sephiroth. Kimberley has been safe from an evil so powerful for many years, but now something has changed. A disease is spreading and the evil is after her. Will she stay safe? Will she save the day with the help of a man who she's always held close to her heart? Or will the evil win?
1. PROLOGUE

_"Kim! What do you think you're doing?!" Cloud yelled above the noise._

_"The only thing I can do." I told him honestly, "I caused this, and I'm going to finish it." I made to walk off, refusing to look at him; I didn't want him to see the tears that would soon show in my eyes and appear in my voice._

_As I walked off, someone took my arm tightly, It must have been Barret._

_"You're one of the two people keeping AVALANCHE together." He stated in his African American accent, "What would AVALANCHE do if you died? What about Marlene? And Denzel? What about yo family?"_

_"That's the thing. I don't have a family, Barret." I said sternly. My mother died when I was eight. My father was a loyal general in SOLDIER, my mum's sister had committed suicide, my uncle was abusive and my older sister had gone mad. Just thinking about them made my blood boil. _

_"You have us: friends." Tifa said putting a hand on my shoulder, "You have Denzel and Marlene. You have Cloud and you have Zack in your heart." At the sound of Zack's name my shoulders slumped with more weight, "We are your family.'_

_"I know you want there to be another way, but there isn't. The female traitor shall fall in order to save all." I mumbled as I started to walk off again. Someone stepped in front of me and pulled me into their warm embrace._

_"Please. Don't do this." I closed my voice and concentrated on his voice. On Cloud's voice._

_"I'm so sorry Cloud. I love you more than anyone can ever imagine." My voice because,e shaky and tears started to fall. He sniffed, was he crying? I thought as jhe pulled away from me slightly. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks were tear stained. He tucked some of my side fringe behind my ear. He put one hand on the back of my neck and the other around my waist. Cloud came closer and kissed my longingly, not wanting me to go. I didn't want to go either; I showed him that. I kissed him back and he held me tighter. _

_When we pulled away, I sighed as he wiped away my tears. "Come back to us when this is over. "_

_"Sure thing." I turned to look at everyone, then I left. And I used all the emotions that had been bottled up inside of me as adrenaline, and I charged at the blue haired figure in the distance._

* * *

6 MONTHS EARLIER

I woke to the sound of dripping water. Drip...drip...drip. The noise reverberated off the walls and echoed in my ears. I could smell something horrid. The smell of blood amend stale water. My whole body ached and my head was throbbing against my skull.

I knew I was chained to the wall when I tried to to move. I heard footsteps coming towards me as I began to struggle, the chains digging into my wrists and cutting them. Then there was the flick of a light switch. A blinding logjht came on, lighting up the once pitch black room. Once my vision had adjusted, there was only one light. It was dangling from the ceiling, spraying sparks everywhere, and it was dimly lit.

"That stopped you struggling didn't it?" Came a menacing voice. I looked in the direction of the voice. I could see the faint outline of a man; his face was hidden by the shadows that engulfed him.

"Who are you?" I yelled out in anger.

"You Don't remember me? That s a shame because..I remember you." The man walked into the light. He had dark brown eyes, raven black hair and a scar going across his face diagonally. He was wearing a black trench coat with matching trousers, boots and gloves. "It was very hard not to forget you of course. Since you gave me this!" He pointed to his scar. "I am Nathanial Wellborn."

I scoffed, "Whatever Nathanial. Why are you here? You know that it's against -" He laughed maniacally.

"Don't give me that crap. Why did you turn, hmm!?" He snarled.

"For reasons of my own."

"Haha. Yeah. For your parents; your friends and so you can keep that promise you made to his mother perhaps!" He laughed once more, "But me? I believe in her ways. So I am helping her."

"Helping her to do what exactly?"

"Rid the world of people like you! People whjo are blinded by emotions!"

"You know nothing!" I yelled.

"You know nothing...Kimberley." He came up to me and kissed my neck. I froze. He pulled away from me, 'Is that fear in your eyes?" I said nothing. He took of the necklace I was wearing and he placed it in his coat clicked his fingers and his men trudged along.

"Yes sir?"

"My sword if you would." The soldier saluted and left tjhe room, coming back a few mi utes with a short mythril blade. Nathanial took the blade. It was shiny like it was newly polished. He put something onto it and a green light gleamed off it. "Now. I know that this is not what she asked me to do, but I am afraid that you fell into our little trap. Where is he?"

"Who?"

"A man. Mako blue eyes? Blonde hair?" I said nothing, "No?" He chuckled as I shook my head."Then he'll just have to come here. It'll be too late by the time he does tho. You'll be dead. Or you'll be so traumatized by what I'm going to do that you won't even speak to anyone about it."

He walked over to me and kissed my neck once again. Anger filled my veins, and I kneed him.

"I knew I should have tied your legs too, but of course I want to pull- ahhhh!" He put a hand to his shoulder."

"Good show Vincent." Came the familiar voice of Cait Sith. I always call him Robbie but for the story he can keep his name the same in the descriptions.

Warning: all personel should evacuate the premises immediately. The walls have been breached. I repeat, All personnel should evacuate the premises immediately. The walls have been breached..

"Cait Sith, keep them busy." The sound of Cloud's voice brought a relief to me.

'On it. So, mister SOLDIER, would you like to know your future?"

I was pinned against the wall before I could break free completely. Nathanial was pulled back and thrown into a dilapidating book case. "Don't you even think about it." That was an angry Cloud. He broke my chains and threw them to the floor. Then he caught something and handed it to me. A dagger. My father's dagger. I wasn't t any good at using them, but I left my blade back at seventh heaven.

I stood, and charged at Nate. The battle that followed between me and him was tough. The others were trying to keep the rest of the enemy away from me. That meant, that I cure wasn't going to be used much. I was slowly growing weaker and weaker, eventually becoming too slow to dodge his next attack. His sword caught me, and Nate's lips curled into a wicked grin as he slowly pushed the blade further into my body. Only a cry of sheer anger caused him to pish me off. A clash of swords followed, and then a light came. Nate was fired back, and he went through the wall. But then after struggling to stand five times, I lost my senses.

When I came to, a faint voice becopame louder and louder. "Kim? Cloud she s alive."

Racing footsteps came closer to me and I was sat up. The next thing I know, I was being held securely in Cloud's strong arms.

"Cloud?" I said weakly.

"Shh. It's okay." He said, picking me up bridal style as he brought me closer to his chest. "You'll make it. You're the strongest woman I know." I smiled weakly.

"Good." Vincent came over and put my headphones into my ears and MP3 player.

"Cloud found it. And that was when he had the idea to go after you and help you out the best he could. When he lost contact, he called us in to help him investigate." Red told me, and Vincent had turned it on.

A silence filled the air around us as we started to escape through the underground tunnels, all the while I could hear Cloud's heart beating and feel it for that matter. My hand was against my wound, which was up against Cloud's chest, kind of adding more pressure. On numerous occasions Yuffie had tried to stop the bleeding. But then my vision started to go blurry and the temperature started to drop dramatically.

"Cloud, we're losing her man." I heard Barret say though his voice was getting fainter, "How far away from the exit are we?"

"Five minutes, three at a push." Even Vincent started to grow quiet.

"Come on Kim. Stay with me." I tried to stay alert and awake, but I couldn't. My eyes closed, and the last thing I knew, my MP3 was playing 'What I've done by Lincoln Park'

_In this farewell_

_There's no blood_

_There's no alibi._

_'Cause I've drawn regret_

_From the truth_

_Of a thousand lies_

_So let mercy come_

_And wash away_

_What I've done_

_I'll face myself_

_To cross out what I've become_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what what I've done_

_Put to rest_

_What you thought of me_

_While I clean this slate_

_With the hands of uncertainty_

_So let mercy come_

_And wash away_

_What I've done_

_I'll face myself_

_To cross out what I've become_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what I've done_

_For what I've done_

_I'll start again_

_And whatever pain may come_

_Today this ends_

_I'm forgiving what I've done_

_I'll face myself_

_To cross out what I've become_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what I've done_

_What I've done._

_Forgiving what I've done._

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if it's short and really bad, I had to start again. Sorry.**


	2. Chapter 1

It was the middle of the night when Cloud walked into Kim's room. The rain continued to fall, thunder clashing and lightning had many feelings within him, none of which he had felt a lot. Maybe it was because he was going through a whole new experience? Not really. It was the second time he had seen a close friend on deaths doorstep. The first was Zack, and Cloud aphad watched him pass away. He didn't want to watch Kim die. Not now, not ever.

The white walls of the room gave off a peaceful vibe, but it gave Cloud time to think. He didn't want to think and he didn't want his mind to wonder. There was a polished oak table next to the door that he closed gently behind him. He did not like Barret in the morning anyway, but a grumpy Barret was kinda scary. Cloud took a chair from the table and placed it next to the bed.

When he saw Kim, he felt pain creep into him like a disease spreading. She was in bed looking helpless. Her fair complexion had become deathly pale, the tint of pink on her cheeks was no more. She looked so fragile and, somehow, broken. Her blonde hair was tied in a neat ponytail, but her mako blue eyes were closed. Cloud took her hand. She was freezing, so he took off his leather gloves and held her hand in both of his, trying to warm her up. At least a little. Her skin was soft, and he found it hard to believe that she fought using a blade much like his own.

"I never should have let you go." He mumbled, "I shouldn't have shouted at you. If I didn't then... At least you might have a better chance of getting through this. I-I'm sorry Kim. I'm sorry Zack."

_Don't be_. A voice said. It was Zack. No doubt about that, but it sounded so life like, like Zack was stood next to him._ It wasn't your fault. _

"What do you mean?" _She would have gone anyway. Just less dramatically and on a better note._ "But I promised you and Aerith that I would protect her as long as I live." _You can't keep every promise you make Cloud. It's just life. Don't blame yourself for something that isn't your fault or for something that you cannot control._ Cloud sighed, and turned his head to the side, thinking that Zack was next to him, but he wasn't. "Oh." He moaned, leaning forward to rest his head on his hands.

All he could hear was the thunder rumbling in the distance and his heart pounding against his chest. He felt her hand twitch. Cloud lofted his head, slowly sitting up. He could see Kim's eyes open slowly, revealing her gorgeous eyes. The mako had certainly made them brighter and hypnotizing. His heart raced like it was overloading, and when her head turned to face him, emotions exploded in his mind and body, coursing through his veins. He was so relieved, and a faint smile crept onto his lips.

"Hey." She said so weakly it was barely audible, "What time is it?" Cloud looked his phone.

"Half twelve on the morning."

"How long have I been out for?" Was the next thing she asked as she sat up groggily.

"Two days." He replied sadly as he held her up to fluff up her pillow. He placed her down gently. "We've been worried. I thought you were a goner."

She chuckled softly, "I thought I was too. How bad was the wound."

"Poison blade; Straight through. If we got there any later you would be dead by now. I would have been really upset if we found you dead." Thunder clapped yet again, causing Kim to bite back a scream."It's okay. It's okay." Cloud said, putting a hand on her forehead, "It's just thunder. "

"I knew that." She turned her head to face him once again, a smile forming on her lips.

"Sure you did." He muttered, "Anyway, I better go back to my room." He stood and started to walk towards the door.

"Cloud?" He turned, "Please stay. The thunder keeps me awake." He just looked at her, contemplating, "Please?"

He sighed, and walked back to the chair. He apologized for the argument they had before hand. "I know that I went out of line. I just didn't want you to get hurt or killed. Like Zack."

"I know, Cloud. But it was something that I had to do alone. You understand?" Cloud nodded, "Next time I'll make sure to stay in contact and not ignore you guys because of an emotional breakdown."

"So, what happened down there?"

Kim explained how she lost her focus and tripped over a trip wire, causing her to get trapped in a metal cage. She couldn't do anything at that point in time because she was knocked out, and she explained how she was Injured. "But what I don't understand is how Nate knew that you and Zack were at the reactor in Nibelheim with myself and Sephiroth."

"Who knows. He could have snuck in before us and caused that tank to open. It wouldn't have been impossible."

"Then how he helped too kill Zack? That made no utter sense."

"He had multiple gunshot wounds. Maybe he helped in that sense." Kim sighed. "It makes no sense."

"You're tired. You need to rest." Cloud told her sternly, "We'll talk to the others about it in the morning. Maybe they can get their head around it."

Kim nodded. "Yeah you're right." She turned onto her side, and his eyes came into contact with hers. She smiled at him as she got comfortable, "Good night Cloud."

"Night, Kim. Sweet dreams." He took her hand again, and messages there back of her hand. When he decided that she was fast asleep, he thought about going back to his room. But he was so tired from not being able to sleep for two nights. His eyes slowly closed and his head fell to the bed. _Good night Zack. Good night Aerith, and ...night mum._ He thought in his head, not knowing that they had heard him until a reply from them all came.


	3. Chapter 2

It was around six in the morning when I woke up the following morning. The sun was just rising. I sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes before looking around. I was alone in my room. I got out out of bed, wincing a little. I was still in my uniform, not that it mattered in my opinion. There was a knock on the door. I turned.

"Who is it?" I asked politely.  
"It's me. Red."  
"Come on in."

The door creaked open. "Sorry if I woke you, Kimberley." The talking big cat apologized, "But...Tash has returned."  
_Tash? What is she doing here? _I thought, "What's bad about that?"  
"Nothing... She's after you." With that, Red left.

I thought she went to see her brother, Percy, back in Costa del Sol. I released a heavy and left me room, limping a little as I walked down the stairs. Whilst I walked into the bar area, I realised I was in Seventh Heaven, meaning I was in Edge (formerly called Midgar). There was a lone woman with short red hair. She had glasses covering her grey eyes and she was wearing skinny jeans with a cream vest top, ankle socks and black converses. I walked up to her.

"Hello there. How may I help?" I asked her, wishing I didn't use those very words.  
She tackled me with a hug, "By serving me, Kim. 'cause I'm the sexy beast." She chuckled, "Only joking."  
"After three years of postcards, you're still the weirdo I know as a friend." I joked, hugging her back. "Anyway, you wanted to see me?"  
Tash looked around, "Is there somewhere we can talk alone?"  
I nodded, "Yeah. We can go to the park nearby." She nodded and gestured towards the door.

* * *

The sun was warm for a change. Summer must have been pretty damn close. We walked over to the swings and sat down, not a care in the world that they were still wet from the previous nights rain.

"What do you want to tell me?" I asked, turning to my friend. She looked at me in the eye, her glasses adjusting to the light.  
She sighed, "I-It's about my brother and the wound you received two days ago."  
I furrowed my brows, "What about them?"  
"My brother...sold a deadly poison to a man wearing a black trench coat." She explained, "If it's who did this to you, you're lucky to be alive."  
I smiled softly, "I am aren't I?"  
"Yeah. And I'll happily help you bring him down."

"One problem. He still has my Father." I told her, my face becoming grim.  
"I thought you-"  
"Hated him?" I finished her own sentence, "Yeah. But he's still my father. He raised me after all."  
"So...how do we find him?"  
"We ask around." I stood again at the sound of incoming footsteps. I turned around and saw Marlene running towards me.

"Kim!" She called. her voice shaky. She wrapped her arms around my waist and her body shook from tears. I out an arm around her shoulders lovingly.  
"Hey. What's the matter?" I asked her, my voice filled with concern.  
"A man wearing a trench coat came asking for you." She told me, a few tears falling from her tears, getting absorbed by my black turtle neck sweater with no sleeves.  
"It's okay." I told her.  
"No it's not. He had a scar on his face from last year." She sobbed, "When you fought him to protect me."

Images flashed through my mind. There was a fire at the back of the building, my childhood home in Nibelheim. There was a man stood infront of me, and Marlene was behind me. I slashed his face and blood sprayed over my face.

I came back to the present, realisation smacking me in the face at five mile per hour, causing my head to hurt more than it already did. That was what he meant by 'You gave me this.' That man was the same man who poisoned me, so I was led to believe: Nathanial Wellborn

I knelt in front of Marlene, "What happened?"  
"He came in, blade drawn, demanding for me. He took a hostage to get to you."  
"Who did he take Marlene?" I asked, keeping calm somehow.  
"I don't know for sure." She said, sniffing. I dried her eyes.  
"It's okay. Well find who he took and take them back." I told her, "Was there any fighting?"  
Marlene nodded, "Yeah." She looked up at me. Blood was on her face.  
"Okay. We'll head back to see the damage." I stated, "And we'll clean you up."

I stood and started walking on, Marlene catching up and taking my hand. Many thoughts raced through my mind. But most of all, _Who was taken?_

**A/N: Sorry it's short. It was supposed to be longer but my Laptop was deleting it for some strange reason. Thanks for reading and please, review. I do accept anonymous reviews as well. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 3

When I returned to Seventh Heaven, it was a mess. Broken glass was everywhere, scratch marks on the tables, marks from where something sharp scrapped the floor. There was no way nails could have done that. Then, there was the blood leading to the basement.

"Tash. Look after Marlene." I said, gingerly readying my sword. "I'm just going to check on something." I followed the blood, paying no attention towards Tash's protests.

Slowly down the steps I went, the stairs and floor creaking as I walked along gingerly, the blood slowly becoming much darker; fresher. The basement was dark like always, I took a torch from my belt and turned it on. The room seemed to go on forever along with the foreboding darkness, but I continued walking.

Eventually, I came across a turn off. I thought about venturing down it, but I hesitated. I shook my head and put one foot in front of the other. That was when I heard a moan of agony coming from the corridor. What do I do? I ran down the corridor as fast as I could go, wanting to see who had been hurt.

The agonizing moaning came closer and closer to me, until the light from my torch caught a man. Blonde hair, blue eyes and sat on the floor; leaning against the wall. I gasped, hoping that it wasn't who I thought. Unfortunately, my hope was false and I felt...full of pain.

"Cloud." I gasped kneeling beside him, "You're hurt. We need to get help. We need to-to get you back to the bar."  
He shook his head, "I'm fine, Kim. Please, just give me some time."  
I protested, "No! You're coming with me whether you like it or not." I told him, "You're not going to die on me. I won't allow it." I took his arm and put it round my shoulders, using my other arm to pull him up gently.  
"I said I'm fine." He snapped.  
I glared at him and snapped back, "We may be friends Cloud, But that doesn't mean that I'm going to listen to you everytime you want me to leave you alone to die. Kapeesh?"  
Cloud sighed and nodded solemnly. I started to feel bad inside. I didn't want to snap at him, yell at him or anything. I just wanted to keep him safe. It was the least I could do. I allowed him to find his balance on his feet before guiding him back towards the ground floor.

I sat Cloud down on a stool at one of the tables before running to the bathroom and grabbing the first aid kit from the medical cabinet. I ran back to Cloud.  
"Tifa? Can you get some warm water ." I ordered.  
"On it's way." She replied, already running out the room. I lifted Cloud's sweater a little and he shoved my hand away in protest.  
"How can I help you if you don't let me take off your shirt, hmmm?" I asked sincerely. He huffed and moved his hand aside, "Thank you." I took of his shirt, making sure that there weren't any more cuts. It seemed so hard to stop staring. Even though I was knelt in front of him, my knees felt like they were going to buckle. The sound of Tifa coming back brought me back to reality and out of the civil war taking place in my head.

"One bowl of warm water." Tifa stated placing the bowl beside me, "And one clean cloth that was in the wash this morning and new yesterday." She handed it to me, and I dunked it into the water.

"This might sting." I warned  
"I'll be fine." He assured me. I nodded, dabbing it on the biggest wound to his side. He bit his lip.  
"Sorry." I muttered, softly as I continued to clean the wounds. I fought back the awkwardness surrounding me. _Just focus on cleaning. _I thought, but each time I thought that, I would feel...strange. I couldn't think straight at all. Until Barret crept up behind me as I started to use the disinfectant.

"What's goin' on here?" He asked me, causing me to flinch.  
"I am disinfecting, these wounds scattering, Cloud's upper body before wrapping bandages - "  
Barret chuckled, "I know that. I mean... what are you doin' up?"  
He sighed, "Okay. But I'm not leaving."  
_Great._ I thought sarcastically, _Just what I need right now. _Tension began to rise again, and I did not like it at all.

"So...what happened here?" I asked, picking up the bandages and wrapping them around Cloud's chest tightly yet carefully.  
"Nathanial came here." Cloud replied after a few minutes, "He was after you."  
I furrowed my brows, "Marlene told me that. She also told me about a fight."  
"Yeah. About that..." He began, but I interrupted.  
"Cloud...you should stop risking your life like this." I told him, finishing with the bandages, "You could die."  
"And what would you have done?" He asked me.  
I put a hand on his shoulder. It sent tingles through my fingers and beyond. "I would have done the same thing, Cloud. But, still..." I sighed, "Why did he want me?"

He shrugged, "Something to do with Materia, traitor, portal to other worlds and a bunch of stuff that makes no sense."  
"Any place names?" Barret asked him.  
"... A few that we know of. Temple of the Ancients, the Sleeping Forest, the reactor at Gongala and this forgotton city on an island not far from the temple. "  
"What about the other places? Ones that we haven't heard of." I asked him, eager to get underway.  
"I don't know for sure." He hung his head like he couldn't remember at all.

"Hey." I told him, lifting his head from under his chin. "It'll be fine. We'll get Reno and Rude to scan some areas from above while we go on foot. We'll also need to take a quick detour to Costa del sol."  
"I'll start a search for the new forgotten city." Tash stated, "I can always go by boat and then by foot."  
I nodded, "Alright. We'll start our search in Gongala." I looked at Cloud; he nodded simply as he grabbed his clothing. "I'll let Cid know. We'll rendezvous at the airship at thirteen hundred." Everyone nodded and I helped Cloud up.

When he looked at me, I hugged him quickly. I left feeling somewhat different. Like I had feelings that I never knew existed for me. They seemed to have just came once I had left Seventh Heaven. I could think, but I still found it hard to forget...everything. Did I have feelings for Cloud? I wasn't sure, but I knew I would find out sooner or later.


End file.
